A Little Song & Dance

I have not forgotten about you. ♥

You always have, and will continue to always be, in my heart. ♥♥

Just popping in to let you beauties know I’m still alive! *lol* 

This was me in August, MCing the Saturday and Sunday shows at Jamballah NW. ^_^  I don’t dance as much as I used to. (Knee injury a few years ago, and now trying to make mermaiding my career), but I hope to get back to doing so more, ‘cause I miss it!  So for now, I’m doing all I can to bring mermaiding to alll I do- including being a Mermaid of Ceremonies (or “M-SEA ;D) at events! ^_^  I don’t think I have the skill to perform anymore since I’ve got sooo much yet to learn and have been stagnant so long (aside from the amazing fan veil class I took last year w/Sedona Soulfire.XD), but I still incorporate bellydance into just about everything I do as a mer, and still hope to meld it with mermaiding more actively in future- both on and offstage/in the public eye. ^_^ And speaking of eyes, I just had eye surgery! So I’m gonna get off this compooper and go make some stuff more by hand than by sight, and I’ll see you amazing spirits soon!  I just wanted to check in and let you all know that this account is indeed NOT in fact dead, and that I love & think about you all often-  even if I don’t upload here as much as I should- or used to. ♥♥  I’m still saving videos from YT to share here, still taking classes whenever I can, and still going to shows now and then, when I have the dinero. ^_^  And you can bet, I’m still dancing in water and on land, whenever I get the chance. ^_^

Love you guys, stay well, and don’t forget me! ^_^  ♥☼♥ Y. OH! PS! I have done a little bit of shimmying on TikTok, not too, TOO long ago- and plan on doing some more again soon! ^_^ Soooo if you wanna find me there, you can visit @ylluria on said app, and I’ll also try to upload a few of my quick little viddies from there to here too- soon-soon! ^_^  ♥♥ Happy Shimmies & Waves of Love, Y! 

Dude, just TELL ME this isn’t perfect holiday “drum solo” material!!  All the isolations and shimmies someone could show off to this!! XD  I can just envision the choreo now! ♥♥♥

♥

I dance a little to my own singing here, but predominantly, this isn’t a dance video, just so ya know.  The only reason why I’m sharing it here is because I performed AT a bellydance show, where I was asked to MC (I was the “Mermaid of Ceremonies” XD), n’ offered a few spots to perform. :) So this was my first performance at Jamballah NW 2018, where I sang a Jennifer Cutting piece a cappella. :)  I deeply hope you enjoy! ^_^ ♥☼♥

Oh!  And if you do?  It would be AMAZING if y’all would Like the vid thar on YT, and maybe even Subscribe to mah wee n’ burgeoning YooToob channel!! ^_^  If you like mermaids, or supporting VI folks, or curvy folx (let alone curvy mermaids XD), mehopes it’ll be a place you’ll dig! ^_^ ♥☼♥

Arright kats n’ kittens, I’ve been away for FAR too long, but I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, n’ it’s my FAVORITE time of year! ^_^ So let’s get creative and do it UP with some fabulous n’ fun bellydance! ^_^ ♥♥

Photos from my gig at Jamballah NW this summer. ^_^   (Images by Glissan Imaging. ^_^ ♥♥)  I got to MC a GREAT bellydance show, as well as pop in a few impromptu vocal performances of my own! ^_^ (Both acappella, the first only backed by waves, which I also danced with in part, to my own singing. :))  I had SUCH a wonderful time! It was the best I’ve ever felt about a performance in.. as long as I can remember! ^_^ ♥♥♥  Thank you Elise and Narcissa Productions for having me! ^_^ ♥♥♥♥♥

This OP ("Bright Helen") literally wrote in her post's thread, and I quote: "Stop eating and go to the gym!"

...

Stop eating?? Stop eating... Really??  'Cause that's healthy advice to give to people as an authority on.. anything..??  There are 675 things WRONG with this post & the attitudes n’ phrases of the OP, and that’s what we’re gonna discuss right here.  Strap in, kids.  This is gonna be a long one.

...

*takes a deep breath*

... There is no place for people or attitudes like this in the bellydance world that I have come to know and deeply, dearly love.  Not as a person of size.  Not as a person with a disability.  Not as a person who happens to be short, or female, or poor, or ANY OF IT.  I don’t know what bellydance world this poster comes from, but I want no part in it.

I have been a part of this community on 2 coasts now for over 9 years, and while I will NEVER profess to be an “expert,” I think I can speak from a place of relatively decent understanding of this world and its denizens.  What I DO know, is that this artform is a place where ALL bodies can be free and feel welcomed and empowered and loved.  ALL BODIES.  Old bodies, big bodies, light bodies, dark bodies, male bodies, thin bodies, round bodies, petite bodies, different bodies, scarred bodies... ALL BODIES.  

And while yes, for some, being successful means attaining/maintaining a certain aesthetic, I've also seen over the years that being a successful, "professional" bellydancer does not necessarily entail ANY one specific body type. XS

However, I also know definitively (from a personal and community perspective) that it's attitudes like this that keep people OUT of dance. It’s this hatred of Others and hatred of Self that keeps people FROM attaining their goals as performers- professional or otherwise. BECAUSE of stereotypes and stigma like this.  BECAUSE of hate and accepted, socially supported ignorance & bigotry like this.  I also know (from a personal perspective and from the MANY people I've talked to over the years, dancer and otherwise), that it's commentary like this that causes and encourages not only a generally negative body image in women n' dancers of all sorts alike, but also eating disorders, hardcore, genuine body dysmorphia, depression and lots more. -And that's regardless of gender and artform/dance/pursuit.

See, this sh* doesn't just hurt "fat people." You're hurting EVERYONE with this kind of hate.  Doesn't matter whether a person has 5, 50, 100 or NO pounds to lose- or whether they're a dancer or not. These attitudes, statements and mindsets are ugly, toxic, mental poison to EVERYONE they touch, which is why posting n' proselytizing this sh* is -not okay.-  You're not just hurting Becky who happens to wear a size 22 (although shaming her and making her feel horrible, unworthy and unwanted is still NOT OKAY).  You're hurting Jenny who's been battling with anorexia for the last 15 years. Or Miles who's been bulimic and hiding it from everyone he knows, because men are pressured to look a certain way too- but get taught that talking about feelings & reaching out for help are signs of “weakness.”  You're hurting Nadia, who never stops obsessing about what she eats or how she looks, because she was taught growing up that “people won't love her unless she's ‘beautiful.’" You're harming Nancy, who's been wanting to dance her WHOLE LIFE, but is afraid to even hit her first dance class because “dancers are always so slender" & "she could NEVER been seen in one of those outfits in public..."  XS  And what about any kids that might be reading this w/their folks, or over a lovedones’ shoulders..?? What kind of values & attitudes do you think you’re instilling in THEM, by encouraging comparisons between people, judging folks on how they look, and valuing people based on their appearances alone..???  You're a public figure.  Has it not occurred to you that you might be damaging SLEWS OF PEOPLE, just by a few hateful statements.. or in this case, one -awful- meme??  

PLEASE STOP.  Not only this, but allll of this kind of behavior.  Just.. in general.  Please stop putting others down to make yourself feel better. This is something that you should've been taught out of in kindergarten....

...

Oh, and ftr..?  To all of you dancers and would-be dancers out there, whether you ever plan on setting foot on a stage or not..? If your dance teacher, troupe leader, etc. talks to you this way, makes you feel badly about your body, or attacks another dancer for theirs, professional or not, it's time to find a new dance teacher/troupe/leader.  It’s one of my most shared posts from this blog, but apparently, the info bears repeating.  Shaming is NEVER the way to go. NEVER.  I don't care if your motives are "good." Talking to people like this is never, never, never all right.  You don’t get positive things done by hurting people.  That’s not altruism or “helping.” That’s causing harm in the world, plain & simple.  And this life is hard enough.

Guess who got their first formal MCing gig??? XD

If you'll be in the Portland, OR area, you TOTALLY oughta come out to SEA the incredible afternoon show JamBallah NW has in store for you!! XD  The enchanting dancers will rrrreeeeel you in with their skilled & artful moves, and if you're very, very good (or.. very, very bad ;)), you might just catch a glimpse of a siren song from the "Mermaid of Ceremonies'" as well! XD   (My injuries may have prevented me from performing on stage as a dancer, but thankfully, I can still raq my mermaid skillz! ;D)

GA tickets are $5, & folks taking Saturday workshops get to see the show for free. :)  Plus there are vendors and a number of other shows & classes featuring world-renowned MED performers n’ teachers o explore throughout the weekend! (And whether you RSVP through my little event portal, Yl'luria MCs at Jamballah NW!, or via the o-FISH-all event page, JamBallah Northwest Festival- 2018, is no big thang. What's important is that we SEA your shining face there! ^_^ 💝💝)

I know I should be saving my money for things like costuming, tails (mermaiding stuff), festivals (food gets PRICEY at these things), etc, but.. I just got a bodysuit from GSLove that I was SO STOKED to get for both mermaiding n’ bellydance (a fishnet one that was gonna act as a much more affordable midriff cover) that turned out not to fit even in the -slightest.-  So I’ll fully admit, I was disappointed n’ needed a tiny touch of retail therapy.  So.. I reached into my shallow pockets (we’re talking rain puddle shallow here), n’ got a little something from BH Cosmetics that I’ve been eyeing for quite a long time; with the hopes of using it onstage as a performer & in my everyday life; as well as for review on my burgeoning YT channel. :)  (Which, if you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to lately since I’m not posting here very often, is what I’ve been concentrating on in recent months; since I’m not dancing much due to my slowly-healing knee injury.  But.. we’ll talk about that here another day.  For now, back to the makeup!)

Enter, the BH Zodiac palette. ^_^

(Image courtesy of Allure: https://www.allure.com/story/bh-cosmetics-zodiac-eye-shadow-palette)

I've been seeing this on the BH site and on YouTube for a long while now (I could swear it was on BH’s site aaaages before people say it came out in November.. but I could be hallucinating), and I have been sooo curious about it!  (I mean, c’mon design!!!)  Buuut I never pulled the trigger until now.. mainly because I only saw it in thumbnails, n’ didn't realize it was anything BUT the baked shadows on the outer ring; thinking the mattes inside were just pretty graphics created to direct the eye to each shimmery shadow.)  But once I saw some reviews of it on YT and learned it had TWENTY FOUR fabulous shadows.. including all those stealthy mattes.. and with a gorgeous HIGHLIGHTER to boot (shining in the center like the frickin’ MOON!!), I was hooked! XD  So, like I do with BH (being a bellydancing girlfish on a budget), I’ve been floating back to their site every now and again for a while, to see if they were having any sales.  And today, lo n’ behold, they were! ^_^  Which is why I FINALLY got the already pretty danged inexpensive 24 shadow + 1 highlighter Zodiac palette- normally $21.. for $14! XD *happy dance*

And my main excuse for justifying it..?  Weyahll.. I've really been needing a rich, pigmented matte black in my collection (which unfortunately, the one in their Brazil palette that I bought not long ago for all it’s gooogeous rainbowy shades- is soooo not).  Plus, I can’t deny it.. this thing has SUCH a cool arrangement of beauuutiful, versatile and what looks like (from the videos I’ve seen on it) suuper pigmented colors!  So I'm not gonna lie.. I’m super-stoked to try her out! XD  You just can’t deny how neato the overall design n' arrangement of colors is. :)  (Even though I think they need fewer shades of purple & a better range of blues.  Plus I'll admit, while I’m no expert on astrology, I’m not quite sure I get the association of colors they’ve made w/the signs.  Like Virgo should be earthy and grounded IMO, rather than pink and pale- unless they’re doing a nod to her whole “Virginal” aspect.  Or.. Leo should be fiery, Libra could be yellows, Pisces blues, ykwim?  And why aren’t the names in order around the year..?)  Still, I LOVE the array of colors in this thing.. most especially how they’ve arranged each Sign so all you have to do is pick a Sign/color theme and BAM, there’s your stunning eye look for the day in one pretty matte & complimentary shimmer, already set out for you. ^_^  -But you’ve still got this amazing color wheel of beauuutiful mattes & shimmers, giving you all KINDS of ideas for gorgeous eye looks to suit any need or mood. ^_^  (Personally, I’m thinking this is gonna be a GREAT travel palette, despite its size.  From the look of the colors, it seems like you could do naturals and nudey soft looks w/it, all the way  to bright, metallic n’ smoky POW shades, which I love! ^_^)  

The only thing now is to wait (it seems like BH and some other companies take foreeeever to “process” their orders) n’ test ‘em out to see how they wear once they finally arrive! :)  *clamps desk eagerly, watching e-mail w/baited breath for shipping updates*  If you wanna see how that goes, lmk!  Part of me getting this palette is also to test on my YT channel- created so folks on land n’ sea can see what works for us mermaids.. and bellydancers.. and cosplayers, and stage performers, & other folks who work under hot, bright lights, long days in unforgiving, sweaty festival conditions (where touch-ups aren’t always possible), etc.  I know that what bellydancers n’ other performers need in makeup (let alone find “wearable”) maaaay not be what other day-to-day makeup wearers need, so I wanna help them find what works well, n’ weed out what doesn’t, yanno? :)  Soooo I hope you’ll stay with me on this little makeup journey I’m embarking on- w/BH and beyond! ^_^  (For example, I’m currently testing out Maybelline’s SuperStay foundation through various conditions, n’ recently did a Battle of the Blue lippies challenge, that I’ve gotta compile n’ edit footage for, just to name a few. :))

Now.. off to bed!  -Darn these late-night impulse buys! ;D I hope you guys are all doing well, and if there’s any product/s (or plus-size costumery) that YOU’D like to see tested, please lmk!  I’d love to make videos that serve YOU, my beautiful, fabulous, curvy n’ shimmying community! ^_^ ♥♥♥